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Rooted Menace
The Breathing Forest , the main base of operations for the Magic Council, and a truly magnificent display of the Council’s power. It was a floating island, the same size as an established city, and it moved through the island regions of Ishgar without a single issue. Its primary locality was close to the countries and , where the reign of the council reigned supreme. Amongst the bustling workers and the tall buildings, a single woman stood in an office room of the central, tallest building in the city: the main headquarters of the Magic Council. This blond woman boasted a regal air, despite her youth, and was dressed in attire appropriate for a Rune Knight. “Cecilia Lambert, Shield Unit: Alexander’s Captain reporting, sir!” The woman reported, saluting to her superior, who sat in the distance, his face unrecognizable through the dim lighting. “Thank you for your punctuality, as always, Cecilia.” The man before Cecilia spoke. This man, who could not be recognized by his face, was the individual feared and respected by the world as the Knight Commandant of the Rune Knights, also known as “Knight King.” “There is a mission I require you to attend post-haste. At the east of Fiore, past the remains of , there is a particularly large forest. This forest has never been an issue prior to recently, however, we have received word that individuals are going missing in this forest, and that ominous noises can be heard.” Cecilia responded in the midst of the Commandant’s speech, “Forgive me, sir. But...ominous noises? Of what sort?” Cecilia inquired. Situations like this rarely arose, and if they did, they were often accompanied with bad omens. “From what has been told by witnesses, they appear to be noises akin to a wolf’s howl, or cry. But it is difficult to determine with recordings alone.” The Commandant responded, with a certain amount of urgency in his voice. “From what my scouts have reported, the forest is not simply idle, either. There appears to be a vast quantity of raw power emitting from it, but it does not match any known sources of magical power. Due to these unknowns, it has quickly rose to become a territory that Guilds are competing for Jobs, but it is also very high-risk area.” “...A power that does not match existing records of Magic..? How strange…” Cecilia noted to herself. While she had encountered many beasts during her career, none of them boasted particularly strange magical energy. In fact, there were many consistencies when it came to magic energy alone. Then what was this...phenomenon that the Knight Commandant had informed her of? “Cecilia.” The Knight Commandant sought to grab the Rune Knight Captain’s attention. “I need you to quarantine the southern access point of this Forest. The other points are guarded by river, mountains and swamps. They will be difficult for people to access without specific vehicles. Unfortunately, we do not have the resources to place quarantined barriers at all those sites with the situations in Enca, Caelum and Pergrande...but that’s for another time.” Cecilia nodded in approval, “Yes, sir! Is there anything else you would like me to do while I am at the forest?” Cecilia asked eagerly. “Take a small squad of Knights with you. Capable ones, of course, and investigate the forest to the best of your ability. If possible, find any missing people and retrieve them safely. Likewise, if you can determine the true nature of that forest, that would make our efforts easier.” The man stood up, and walked past Cecilia at a brisk pace, his body framed with armor, and face hidden by the dim lighting. “I expect great things, Cecilia.” The man spoke, walking past and seemingly disappearing from view in the instant Cecilia turned around. “The Knight Commandant...mocking me as always…” Cecilia pouted, before raising her spirits and leaving the office. She had a job to do. ---- Nearby the location that the Knight Commandant had given Cecilia, anyone walking could easily see a wall of black in the distance. Yet, it was no fortress, at least, not one built from bricks and iron. Leaves rustled, those who walked even closer would see that it was, in fact, a group of trees. The Forest of Death. Its trees varied greatly in size alone, some standing out, some hidden by others. Regardless of their individual sizes, they all stood taller than the soil surrounding the forest, making it seem as if it had its own grounds. Much like stated before, around it were many other environments, the most notable ones being a chain of mountains to one side. From a particular distance, some kind of… howling reached to the outside. That day was quite windy, many currents passed by the forest, their formless echoes brushed by the leaves, by the rocks, by the wood. It overwhelmed whatever noises any animals, insects… humans could make. With the abundance of trees and their fat leaves, sunlight would have a difficult time illuminating its soils. Upon closer inspection, if one would even dare, they would notice how some of the leaves didn’t actually budge along the wind. Closest to the southern entrances were the river from the east and the swamp from the west. Rivers were quick to be found inside a forest, after all, the water ran fast. However, even from such a close point, one couldn’t simply hear it. It was as if the water ran meekly, so that it stood quiet, its partial crystalline texture only made it less notable. Silence, despite the numerous trees and flowers, only silence predominated. “What...what is this…?” Cecilia could only speak in shock, jaw dropping at the site before her. It was not the magnitude of the forest that surprised her, nor the barriers surrounding it...but rather, it was the sound that the forest was emitting. This wasn’t a natural sound, not in the slightest. It had felt like a wild animal overwhelmed everything. Nature had felt non-existent in this space. She could not hear the cries of the birds, despite the birds flying right above her. The sounds of the rapid river were silent, even though she could see it with her eyes. It was almost as if she was placed in a simulation. “Focus, focus Cecilia.” Cecilia repeated to herself, trying to calm herself down. But it was difficult beyond belief. Everything in this area had felt completely unnatural. Her first instinct was to simply run away and ignore the problem, but she wasn’t raised as a Rune Knight to be a coward. “First, we must quarantine this area immediately. Knights, stand back for a moment.” Cecilia commanded her subordinates, and they all took a couple of steps back. “You sure you don’t need help, Captain Cecilia?” One of her subordinates asked, taking off his helmet. He was a youthful man, with darker blonde hair, and bright green eyes. This was Mason Warren, a member of the Artefact Detainment Unit: Cerberus. He wasn't a Captain, but he was noted among the various members of the Unit to be a particularly skilled Celestial Mage, with his skills being renown by those of his ilk as “Silver Star”, especially with his partner, . “I’m fine, but thank you for the offer, Warren.” As Cecilia politely refused the offer, Mason backed away. He had heard of the “Shield Hero” through mostly rumors, never being assigned on a mission with the Captain till this point. Despite her chivalric attitude, she was noted to be quite stubborn, something he finally saw for himself. She breathed in, gathering magical energy and expelling it outwards from her being. Her aura took a bright golden aura, and resembled a shield at first glance. As she focused her magic further, Cecilia chanted, “Formula 21.” She wielded her staff, spinning it on the spot twice, before swinging it horizontally to her right. Suddenly, a string of characters began to form from the furthest left part of the forest entrance, and in a golden line, they began moving rightwards in a straight line. The characters continued to be made, in a repetitive pattern, before finally the line ended at the furthest right of the forest entrance. A golden wall shot up from the text, soaring upwards into the sky, and seemingly stretching nigh-infinitely. This was the Magic of Cecilia Lambert, Susanoo, a powerful form of Magic Barrier that truly emphasized the Captain’s skill. “There we go. No ordinary Mage will be able to break or bypass this barrier, meaning that, even if we are there for extended periods of time, those who come to rescue us will surely be someone stronger than I am.” Cecilia affirmed her thoughts out loud while speaking to her subordinates at the same time. “You are all prepared? We have rations and the like, don’t we?” Cecilia asked her squadron. “Yes, Captain! We have enough food and water to last for an entire week.” Mason responded affirmatively. “Good...but let’s hope we don’t need it,” Cecilia said, with an almost grimacing tone. The ambience of this forest did not appeal to her at all. Not only was it frightening...but it was dampening, almost as if being in this area was sapping away her happiness. “Let’s go.” Cecilia said as she swung her staff. A part of the barrier that she had created had opened up for herself and her subordinates. She walked in first and made sure the others trailed behind her. As they all entered the vast forest, she closed the golden barrier once again. She looked at the magnitude of this forest and could feel its magical power. She clenched onto her staff tightly. This wasn’t going to be easy. Grass, the first thing Cecilia’s boot met was pure grass, yet, its squish wasn’t the only sound that reverberated. Much like a string snapping, the howling that echoed through the forest came to a halt, almost too fast, the rustle of the leaves disappeared. Seconds passed by, some of the Knights could feel as if the oxygen escaped their lungs. All was soon tranquil once the rustle of leaves could be heard again, the sound of the water coming out, even if not too loud. ---- Sebastian had been wandering for the last three days, slowly picking his way through this foul place. Moving slowly so the forest wouldn't notice, drifting across a slow current of air so he wouldn't touch the trees, water, or ground below. Anything so it wouldn't notice, not again. Three days ago he had entered this forest, looking for the origins of this forest, this Forest of Death. An S-Class mage from the guild Mountain's Oath, sent into the Lion's Den to figure out what had happened to the other mages, the other people. He hadn't found them, but Sebastian was pretty sure what happened to them. What had happened to him. Those people he had been sent to find, they were almost certainly dead. "A light..." He whispered, hoping his voice wouldn't carry as he saw the golden glow in the distance. Sebastion changed his course, turning towards the light. For all he knew, it might be the forest trying to finish him off once and for all. But he had to take the chance, as continuing what he had been doing for the last three days would only kill him. All that was left for him to do was to try and reach it, hoping beyond hope that he might be saved, even as blood dripped onto the ground below from his ruined arm and leg hanging limply at his side. Genius, Sebastian's efforts and methods were fruits of how much hard work and thinking he had put into surviving. But, that was why, it sought him. What gave away his presence wasn't even a mistake, after all, Sebastian couldn't just focus on stopping his blood from hitting the ground, else he fell as well. The quietness from before was soundly interrupted... Thud, the earth shook and some leaves fell, thud. Thud, thud, thud, a gust of wind went along, turning the leaves and grass to a certain direction. Living beings, regardless of wielding magic or not, knew too well when a sensation dawned upon them. Especially, when something or someone observed them. "Haaaaaah," Some kind of steam blew around Sebastian's location, before he could even look up, some kind of transparent liquid descended to the ground. In fact, even if he did, the many trees and their leaves blocked out whatever it was, "Haaaaah." Not again... The mage shuddered as he felt the presence above. "Urknall..." Sebastian whispered, pretending to be unaware of the situation for a moment longer than he was. Hoping that he could trick the forest in giving him the few seconds he needed to break for it. His magic power was running low, the strain of the days weighing heavily upon him. But he wasn't quite out of it yet. Air gathered on his palm, consuming the gust into a bomb of wind and air. A bomb that would hopefully buy him enough time to rush towards the light, rush to what was hopefully freedom. Sebastian spun around on his cushion of air, changing to face straight up to the trees above. The air in the forest collapsed towards him, being consumed by the bomb in his good hand. Even the cushion he lay upon was consumed, as the spell grew larger and larger. "Angriff!" He yelled as his back hit the ground, the ball of wind and air exploding out with a roar that could be heard across the forest. The back blast of the spell alone was enough to crater the ground underneath Sebastion, driving him into the soft soaking ground as a hurricane battered the trees above him. Sebastion pushed off with his good leg, sliding up and out of the hole even as he conjured another cushion of air. This one moving much faster than the last in a last ditch effort to reach that golden light that was coming tantalizingly closer. This was it, his last gambit to escape this forest alive. Cecilia and her squad of Knights had been slowly moving forward. They were attempting to scan their environment, trying to find signs of life and signs of magical activity. Much to their surprise, everything within the forest had been almost muddled entirely, as if they entered the ocean to try and find a specific grain of salt. "This is really weird..." One of the Rune Knight subordinates spoke, revealing her face from her helmet. She was a bespectacled woman with brown hair tied in a braided ponytail. Bianca Kinobori, an expert in the use of Plant Magic, and a member of the Communications Unit: Ixion, found herself puzzled at the environment around her. This wasn't any ordinary forest, but she couldn't understand what was going on. "Let me try something! One moment, Captain!" Bianca asked Cecilia, who had ordered the rest of the knights to stop and accompany Bianca. The eager Plant Mage headed towards the nearby tree and made contact with it. "Plant Climber!" Bianca chanted, as she focused her magic to her hands, created numerous smaller vines that punctured the nearby tree. The vines would connect her sensations and magical power to the plant, enabling her to manipulate it and sense the true nature of this forest... Or so she thought. "Aaaaahh!!!" Bianca screamed suddenly, causing Cecilia and Mason to be puzzled and rush towards her, catching her as she was falling to the ground. The vines that she had produced died, and disconnected from her body, leaving her sweating and panting from the experience she just went through. "What...what the hell is this forest...?" Bianca asked herself aloud, as she continued to look around. "The amount of power in this place is beyond anything I could ever imagine...it feels like it could surpass the Wizard Saints! Captain...we might be in over our heads..." "...Thank you for your efforts, Kinobori. Unfortunately, we have to keep moving forward for the time being. If we find at least one survivor, we might be good to go." Cecilia said, helping her stand up and walk again. "Warren, make sure Kinobori is doing well," Cecilia ordered, and the Rune Knight responded affirmatively. They continued to move forward steadily, observing all their surroundings and keeping on the straightest path possible. Soon, however, they would hear a sound that felt like a burst of air from the distance. "Did you hear that? Keep on guard, everyone!" Cecilia told her subordinates, as everyone took a defensive position. Intense winds could be seen in the distance, as a figure trailed forth. It was a human, male, making use of what appeared to be Wind Magic. "Mage! Stop right there! We are Rune Knights, and we are here to help you!" Cecilia announced to the incoming Mage, who may have just lost control of his power. Spinning her staff, Sengetsu, Cecilia chanted, "Formula 3!" Text appeared beneath Cecilia's immediate location, and as the Mage continued to burst forward, a wall with a sponge-like texture appeared before Cecilia, attempting to dampen the impact of the Mage's bursting speed without harming him. Sebastian hit the wall hard, the soft texture of it stopping him gently, though the man still let out a small moan of pain as his shattered arm and leg hit the wall. He had flown towards the light as fast as he could without crashing, weaving between the trees in an effort to escape. Sebastian hadn't even taken the time to see if he had thrown off his pursuer. He rolled off the wall onto the soft ground, ending up face down in the soft earth. He slowly pushed himself up with his good arm to look at the assembled rune knights. Pain could be heard laced through the disheveled man's voice as he uttered, "Leave, now... Before it's too late..." Category:Role-Plays Category:Ash9876 Category:DamonDraco